Luggage carrier



Jan.`4 10, 1933. J, M, BEEN 1,893,752

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Original Filed Nov. l, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 1t), 1933Unirse 'r JAMES IVI. BEEN', OF HABLAN, IOW'A,y ASSIGNOR TO JOHN W.MALIVIQUST, OF ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA.

LUGGAGE CARRIER Application filed November 1, 1929, Serial Thisinvention relates to luggage carriers and more particularly to a deviceof this character adapted to be mounted upon a platform or equivalentsupport at the rear 5y of the automobile.

One object of the invention is to provide a luggage carrier which may beused in either a closed or open condition and may, therefore, be used toCarry articles which should be protected from exposure or as areceptacle in which poultry may be transported without danger ofsmothering.

Another object of the invention is to so form closures for the luggagecarriers that when they are opened they may constitute end extensionsfor an intermediate section or main body portion of this device andthereby not only allow poultry to be transported without danger of beingsmothered but also 2O increase the carrying capacity of the device andallow a laro'e quantity of material which would not be damaged byexposure to be transported.

Another object of the invention is to allow the contents of the luggagecarrier to be shielded from exposure but at the same time so associatethe closures with the body portion or intermediate section of thecarrier -that when the closures are moved to an open position thecontents of the carrier may be very easily removed therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to so form walls of the intermediatesection or body portion of the carrier and end sections or closures thattight joints will be formed between the same when the end sections areswung outwardly to an open or extended position and thereby preventdanger of grain, sand or similar material flowing outwardly between thewalls of the intermediate and end sections.

Another object of the invention is to so form the walls of the closuresor end sections that when they are in a closed or retracted position atight joint will be formed between them and danger of rain or snowleaking into the luggage carrier prevented.

Another object of the invention is to allow stakes to be removablyapplied to the outer side wall of the body portion or intermediatesection of the luggage carrier with upper portions of the stakesprojecting upwardly so that when a camping outfit is to be transportedor other bulky material portions thereof may extend above the luggage.car- 55.- rier and the stakes prevent the same from slipping rearwardlyout of place.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a perspective view showing the 6o improved luggage carriermounted at the rear of an automobile and closed,

Fig. 2 is a view similar to F ig. l showing the closures or end sectionsswung outwardly to an opened or extended position,

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the carrier when opened,

Fig. el is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig.3,

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3,and

Fig. 6 is a view taken longitudinally through the luggage carrier whenclosed.

rFhis improved luggage carrier is intended for use in connection with anautomobile, such as shown in Figures l and 2 and indicated in general bythe numeral l, and is to be mounted upon a platform or equivalentsupport 2 mounted at the rear of the automobile.

By referring to the drawings, it willbe seen that my improved luggagecarrier consists of a body portion or intermediate section 3 and endsections 4 which serve as closures for the intermediate section or bodyportion when in the retracted position shown in Figures l and 6. rlhebody portion or in-y termediate section is preferably formed of sheetnieta-l of sufficient thickness, although other materials may be used,and this intermediate section or body is open at its ends and has abottom G and side walls 7, openings 8 being formed through the bottom toreceive bolts 9 by means of which the luggage carrier is secured to theplatform 2 and washers 10 are provided to holdr the bottome of the bodyin slightly spaced relation to the platform. Therefore, water will beprevented from accumulating beneath the body and causing it to rust andalso the end sections or closures 4 will be permitted to move easily toan extended or opened position, as shown in Figure 4.

The end sections or closures are also formed of sheet metal and each hasside walls 11 joined by walls 12 and 13. The ends of the intermediatesection fit between the walls 1l of the end sections and rivets 14 arepassed through corners of the walls 7 and 11 to pivotally mount the endsections or closures for swinging movement from a closed or retractedposition shown in Figures 1 and to an opened or extended position shownin Figures 2, 3 and 4. Therefore, the end sections may be swung from aClosed position in which they entirely enclose the body portion orintermediate section to an extended position in which they projectlongitudinally from the ends of the intermediate sect-ion and in effectconstitute continuations of the intermediate section and provide areceptacle which is somewhat wider than the body portion of theautomobile but preferably not of suilicient length to projectv outwardlybeyond the rear mudguards. By this arrangement material which should beprotected from exposure may be entirely enclosed, as shown in Figures 1and 2, but by extending the end sections a device will be providedcapable of holding a large quantity of material. Tt should also be notedthat when the end sections are extended chickens or other poultry may beplaced in the luggage carrier and easily transported from one place toanother. lVhen so used, the poultry will be permitted to have plenty ofair but it will, of course, be necessary to place wire screening or anequivalent shield over the open upper end of the carrier to prevent thepoultry from escaping.

When the end sections are extended. a large quantity of sand, grain orsimilar material may be transported in the carrier, and in order toprevent this material which flows freely from leaking out between theintermediate and end sections, the walls 11 of the end sections areprovided with inwardly extending tongues 15 and the side walls 7 of theintermediate section are provided with outwardly extending` tongues 1G.These tongues are spaced slightly from their walls, as shown in Figure3, and from an inspection of this figure it will be seen that when theend sections are swung outwardly to an extended position the tongues 15and 1G interlock. This not only forms a tight oint between the walls ofthe intermediate and end sections but also limits outward movement ofthe end sections. The bottom G of the intermediate section has its endscurved upwardly a slight am onnt and each end is formed with a tongueextension bent back flat against its under face, as shown at 17, toreinforce the bottom at its ends. The adjacent ends of the walls 13 ofthe end sections are also curved slightiy, as shown at 18. This curvingof the adjacent ends of the bottom 6 and walls 13 not only forms a tightjoint between the same when the end sections are extended but alsoallows the end sections to be easily swung to an extended or foldedposition. When the end sections are moved to a retracted or closedposition, it is desirable to limit their movement toward each other, andin order to do so, the walls 11 and 12 are bent outwardly to form abordering flange 19 for each end section. These flanges abut when theend sections are closed and not only prevent one section from partiallyor entirely fitting into the other but in addition cause a very tightjoint to be formed between the two sections when the latch 2() carriedby the handle Q1 of one end section is engaged with the correspondingrhandle of the other end section. The flanges 19 not only permit a. tightjoint to be formed between the two end sections when closed in order toprevent rain and snow from leaking into the luggage carrier but alsopermit a sheet of screening or wire mesh to be tightly bound beneaththem when t-he end sections are extended and thereby prevent danger ofthe wire guard working loose and allowing poultry to escape. Clips 19are secured against the bottom of the intermediate section 3 and extendoutwardly and upwardly therefrom at its front and back to serve asabutments limiting downward movement of the end sections when closed andalso prevent their walls 11 from springing outwardly.

When a camping outfit or other bulky material is being transported, aportion of the load usually extends upwardly above the carrier or ispiled upon it and it is then necesary to prevent danger of the materialslipping rearwardly and falling upon the ground. In order to do so, Ihave provided stakes 22 which are disposed in an upright positionagainst the inner face of the rear side wall of the body portion orintermediate section. These stakes are preferably formed of strong sheetmet-al and have their side portions folded inwardly. The stakes arehollow, although their upper portions may be flattened so that they aresubstantially solid and for a portion of its length each stake has theedges of the sheet metal strip from which it is formed terminating inspaced relation to each other to provide a slot Q3 leading from itslower end. Therefore, when the stakes are set in place. pins 24 whichproject inwardly from the rear o1' outer side wall of the body may beengaged through the slots of the stakes with their heads disposed withinthe stakes and the stakes will be securely but removably held in anupright position with their upper portions projecting upwardly beyondthe carrier. Therefore, the portion or the loa-d piled upon the luggagecarrier will be confined between the stakes and the rear of the body ofthe automobile and prevented from sliding rearwardly and falling uponthe ground. These stakes are of such length that when they are not inuse they may be placed in the body portion or in'- termediate sectionagainst the rear wall with each stake secured by having one end engagedwith one of the lower pins. If it is desired to support ladders, pipes,tent poles or other long objects at the sides of the automobile, thestakes 22 or similar stakes 25 may be set in place against the walls l2of the end sections 3 and retained in a vertical position by'enga-gementwith studs or pins 26 carried thereby.

I have, therefore, provided a luggage carrier which, when closed, isvery compact and will prevent perishable material placed therein frombecoming damaged by rain or snow and I have further provided a luggagecarrier which, when opened, can carry a large quantity of goods withoutthe weight causing the automobile to be liable to tilt rearwardly. Ihave further provided a luggage carrier in which poultry may betransported and allowed to have plenty of air so that they will not beliable to smother.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

l. A luggage carrier comprising a receptacle having an intermediatesection open at its top and ends, and end sections pivoted to saidintermediate section for swinging from retracted to extended positions,said end sections when extended being open at their tops and inner endsand constituting continuatio-ns of said intermediate section and whenretracted being disposed about the intermediate section in closingrelation thereto, the walls of said end sections being provided withabutment anges contacting when the end Sectio-ns are retracted to limitmovement thereof towards each other and form a tight joint between thesame.

2. A luggage carrier comprising a receptacle having an intermediatesection open at its top and ends, and end sections pivoted to saidintermediate section for swinging from retracted to extended positions,said end sections when extended being open at their tops and inner endsand constituting continuations of said intermediate section and whenretracted being disposed about the intermediate section in closingrelation thereto, handles carried by the end walls of said end sectionsand projecting outwardly therefrom, and alatch carried by one handle andengageable with the other handle to releasably secure the end sectionsretracted.

3. A luggage carrier comprising a receptacle having an intermediatesection open at its top and ends, and end sections pivoted to saidintermediate section for swinging from retracted to extended positions,said end sections when extended being open at their tops and inner endsand constituting continuations of said intermediate section and whenretracted being disposed about the intermediate section in closingrelation thereto, the bottom of said intermediate section having its endportions curved upwardly and the inner ends of corresponding walls ofthe end sections being curved upwardly to facilitate movement of the endsections and form close joints between the said walls when the endsections are extended.

4c. A luggage carrier comprising an intermediate section consisting offront and rear sides and a bottom and further comprising end sectionshinged to the lower end portions of the intermediate section, each endsection consisting of front and rear sides and two walls, said endsections being movable from retracted to extended positions and adapted,when retracted, to envelope the body section, and when extended, to formcontinuations of the intermediate section, and opposed abutment stops onthe intermediate section medially thereof, each cooperating with thecorresponding sides of said end sections to limit the retractingmovements thereof.

5. A luggage carrier comprising an intermediate section consisting offront and rear sides and a bottom and further comprising end sectionshinged to the lower end portions of the intermediate section, each endsection consisting of front and rear sides and two walls, said endsections being movable from retracted to extended positions and adapted,when retracted, to envelope the body section, and when extended, to formcontinuations of the intermediate section, and an abutment stop on theintermediate section cooperating with one side of one end section andwith the corresponding side of the other end section to limit theretracting movements of both end sections.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

JAMES M. DEEN. [n s]

